Sweet Home Alabama

So I think sorta until today this summer didn't really feel real.

Like I knew I was coming, but I didn't REALLY KNOW that I would be here in Alabama doing research all summer.

But this morning I woke up in my Alabama bed, spent the day with my Alabama friends, rode to the Alabama wal-mart, and made my Alabama house a little more homey.  I THINK It might be starting to sink in!  Especially watching my mom go to the airport. That was the least fun part of the sinking-in part.  My truck won't be in texas again for months. Literally. Weird.  AND by then my Texas inspection sticker will be out of date FOUR MONTHS.  :D Oops.

It seems really fun. I met the other REUs (That's what I am, it means research experience for undergraduates or something), and Laura, the girl who is in charge of us, and we talked about sorta what the summer will be like. I'm totally and completely pumped!! We get to spend a night in New Orleans, and we're going on all kinds of trips, PLUS we're possibly touring the Blue Bell Creamery!! Yay!!

Maybe I should slow down and actually say what happened so far. So we checked in yesterday, and got my stuff all dumped in before we grabbed some delicious cinnamon rolls from a super cute bakery here on the Island. Then I went up to Bellingrath Gardens, an amazing estate that they preserved from some head honcho in the Coca Cola company with all these wonderful gardens that make you just appreciate life like 100 times more.  If you're interested look at my pictures on facebook!  They're mostly just flowers and fountains, because normally you can't take pictures inside the estate. It was BEAUTIFUL, they have all kinds of china and bathrooms that match the bedrooms! And the sets were ALL FULL, and I just really love matchy things. :D

Then we got sushi for the first time ever! It was delicious, healthy, and much more filling than I expected. Plus it was a fun outing with my mom and sister, and I felt like I was expanding my horizons. I think my favorite was the shrimp tempora, but I tried raw, spicy, and cucumbery, just so that I could say that I even tried things I DIDN'T normally like.

After sushi, we made the trip to wal-mart. I got everything I could think I would need to eat. Especially things you could double-up, like bread and jelly that you can use for toast OR a pb&j!  Lots of fruit, bananas, blackberries, apple slices (although I discovered today that sunbeam makes dried apple slices, so that is DEFINITELY on my next shopping list), eggs for breakfast, all kinds of fun things!  Pretty happy with that, and after I returned I got to meet my housemate, Amanda!  We had a good time, but both fell asleep super early like old ladies, we were exhausted.

Today, I woke up early to take mom to the airport. That was the weirdest feeling ever. I mean, we always leave Alabama, and leave RENEE here. I've never been on the other end of that transaction! It made my heart sink a little. I've been realizing for the first time what a home body I am. I've never been more than a few hours away for more than a week.  THREE MONTHS IS A LONG TIME.  A tiny part of me keeps freaking out, but I try to shush it and put that in the back of my mind.

Then the party started!! I went to wal-mart with Amanda. She didn't have any groceries, and it is TOTALLY not fun to shop alone.  We also decided that our very inhospitable bathroom needed some sprucing up, with as little as money as possible, so we pooled our money and our efforts to get a cheap towel for a bathmat, shower curtain, and some seaside decoratives to perk things up. I think it looks pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself :)

I like that the colors of her room AND my room are incorporated in the bathroom, and that the bathmat towel matches the clock so perfectly!  Then we hung up hooks by the door...


... looks so homey! Yay!!  Now I'm going to go enjoy my new temporary home :)

<3 Melissa